Lead to Halo on PC: Ports, Remasters, Mobile Spinoffs and Fan Games
We're not exactly done yet, if you haven't noticed I didn't talk about Halo's mobile spinoffs, remasters, ports, and fan games. Well I was saving this for an all in one encompassing look at all the other ways to play Halo beyond the games that defined the series' legacy. The mobile games, fan works, ports, and remasters that tend to follow a series as storied as Halo, let's have a chat about it.
Next up is Halo 2 Vista for... Windows Vista, obviously. Released three years after the Xbox version this game was too late to be effective against games like Half-Life, Crysis, and Portal and was tied to Games on Windows, Microsofts attempt to make PC players go on Xbox Live and pay that XBL Gold subscription cost. Given this is the PC Gaming community who are fiercely loyal to the ideals of the free marketplace and free online, this went as well as one could expect, ie poorly. Mod support is also rare compared to Halo 1 so it doesn't even have that going for it. It's a competent port at least, but it's a competent port of the worst one in the original trilogy so that's an issue. If you really need to play Halo 2 on PC here and now I suppose it could work but I would just wait for the MCC PC version.
First up is Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, released for the originals 10th Anniversary in 2011. The only real difference here is that the game has full widescreen support, is upscaled to 1080p, and has a brand new graphics engine that you can swap between with the press of a button. It's a much better game in terms of environments with some levels like the Library made much better because of it. Cutscenes suffer here though, this new graphics engine was not designed for the original's animations and it shows; it's either really jank or animations are painfully off model. Sounds are also revamped which is... okay, I suppose; don't really have an opinion one way or the other if I'm honest. There's also Kinect functionality which allows you to scan items with voice commands and add them to a library, I never used that and given that I sold my Kinect I never will. Oh and it's in Stereoscopic 3D, in case you still have a 3D TV, my brother does but it's a hand-me-down from 2012. The worst issue though with this port is that the classic mode is running off the PC port which as I mentioned, looks worse than the Xbox version; though if you play in remastered mode the whole time it won't be an issue. Also it comes with some maps for Halo: Reach that are maps from Halo's 1 and 2 remade, they're okay I suppose, sucks that there's no original multiplayer here though. The whole remaster feels really rushed if I'm honest, though this won't be the last time I say that.
Next up is Halo 2: Anniversary, released for Halo 2's 10th Anniversary in 2014 and boy is this a much better remaster than Halo CEA. Halo 2 Anniversary runs off the Windows Vista version but unlike the gearbox version of Halo 1 the original graphics aren't as bad here. But there's also a new graphics engine just like Halo CEA which has the same massive environment improvements as CEA but the difference here being the animations don't clash with the new textures and that leads us to the other big point in this favor, cutscenes. Halo 2 Anniversary's cutscenes were redone from the ground up by Blur Studios, who had done Halo Wars' cutscenes and would take their work on H2A to Halo Wars 2. And honestly Halo has honestly never looked better than with Blur. It also fixes the large amounts of jank that CEA's cutscenes as they aren't remasters as much as they are remakes. The only problem I noticed is that music is just a bit too loud, they really wanted you to hear this new OST even if dialogue suffers. On the upside Halo 2's multiplayer, along with several maps, is remade using the Halo 4 engine. Adding new elements to maps, new armors, new weapons, and new vehicles to Halo 2 like the Suppresed SMG, AR, and Hornet's. And to top it all off, you get a forge mode, which makes this a far more comprehensive and better remaster than Halo 1.Of course H2A was only one part of the package included with....
Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which has H2A and Halo 2's original multiplayer packed in with it alongside an improved port of Halo CEA (alongside the PC multiplayer), Halo 3, Halo 4, Halo 3: ODST, and soon Halo: Reach. All games are running on the Xbox One at 1080p 60fps with an update allowing for 4K HDR visuals on Xbox One X and, from a pure gameplay perspective, the MCC is the best way to play all of these games. They look better and are so much smoother than their original version, 60fps really should be a standard for the series. But beyond the actual game there are some big issues, and I'm not talking netcode, which is fixed by now. The real problem is that Halo 1's BTB is actually awful to play, with wonky physics ruining the vehicles. Halo 2 is actually fine, but the game is running the Vista port so that may be an issue. Halo 3 and Halo 4 get it worst though as their armor customization is so horribly gutted it's almost a dealbreaker. All armor is reduced to the sets only so no mixing and matching and in spite of having all map DLC included MCC doesn't have the Halo 4 armor or awesome steampunk weapon skin DLC. Oh and the emblems don't work, at all. It's actually awful and I genuinely count the days till 343 fixes it. Oh, and Halo 4's campaign is a bit bugged, not game ruining but enough for old hands in the series to notice. All in all a decent port, but one with issues. Oh, and no Firefight from ODST, the hell is that about?
But now we're simply waiting for the PC ports which should be the definitive version of all six of these games and hopefully fix my biggest problem with the game. But you knew that already; though you probably didn't know about....
There was also rumored Halo on DS, IGN even shows it running but Bungie and Microsoft have denied it ever happening though. Some speculate that it was real, some say IGN was pranking users and some say it actually fell under....
Released in April 2018, Eldewritio was actually a failed spinoff called Halo Online that used the Halo 3 engine, Halo 4 visuals, and micro-transactions that would make Halo 5 blush. It was initially Russia only but fans took to it, ripped out a lot of the "modern" stuff, and made it basically a PC port of Halo 3's multiplayer. However Microsoft forced the makers to cease and desist as the game violated the IP of Halo Online, though the servers remain up to this day and you can easily find a copy of it online. It also runs on basically anything, making it easily the best way to play Halo on PC right now as it's literally just Halo 3, though only the multiplayer, though if you want single player might I recommend SPV3.
Recently released, SPV3 is a mod of Halo 1 that acts as a remake incorporating elements from later games like weapons and enemies, re designing every map, making it harder, and adding a whole bunch of original ideas for maps. It also looks a lot better, not Halo CEA's melting your eyes better, but lighting, textures, and models are largely improved. There are some issues with enemies and sometimes the design can be a bit too busy along with having no easy option which would make it appeal to more casual fans. But if you want a new way to experience Halo 1 and are an old hand at it like me, this should easily be in consideration.
The last one I feel is worth consideration is Halo 2600, an easy to play game that your toaster can handle. Why? Because it's Halo, on the Atari 2600. You shoot things and go through a 64 screen maze until you reach the final boss. That's really about it, if that doesn't sound thrilling then I won't blame you, it's a time sink and nothing more.
And I think that's where we'll end it, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel here I think this review-a-thon is done. It was fun seeing the trajectory of the series, even if it was largely downhill for 10 years. I had a lot of fun going back and replaying these games the original way they were meant to, it's definitely something you need to keep in mind if you review 2 because oh boy has that one aged poorly in terms of system performance. It's also amazing what 60fps did to the series, night and day if you ask me. But we have one more thing to do, look at what we learned, and we will next time.
Ports
First up is Halo 1 on PC, released two years after Halo 1 on Xbox and oh boy this one is special. On one hand the game's visuals are butchered with various effects that helped pretty up the game missing, leading to a worse experience overall compared to the Xbox version. On the other hand this version has online multiplayer and mod support along with having all of the engine tools released for Halo 1. This has in turn inspired some magical works we'll mention later. So if I were to recommend this game, it would probably be for the mod support alone as this is otherwise a pretty bad version of Halo 1.Next up is Halo 2 Vista for... Windows Vista, obviously. Released three years after the Xbox version this game was too late to be effective against games like Half-Life, Crysis, and Portal and was tied to Games on Windows, Microsofts attempt to make PC players go on Xbox Live and pay that XBL Gold subscription cost. Given this is the PC Gaming community who are fiercely loyal to the ideals of the free marketplace and free online, this went as well as one could expect, ie poorly. Mod support is also rare compared to Halo 1 so it doesn't even have that going for it. It's a competent port at least, but it's a competent port of the worst one in the original trilogy so that's an issue. If you really need to play Halo 2 on PC here and now I suppose it could work but I would just wait for the MCC PC version.
Remasters
First up is Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, released for the originals 10th Anniversary in 2011. The only real difference here is that the game has full widescreen support, is upscaled to 1080p, and has a brand new graphics engine that you can swap between with the press of a button. It's a much better game in terms of environments with some levels like the Library made much better because of it. Cutscenes suffer here though, this new graphics engine was not designed for the original's animations and it shows; it's either really jank or animations are painfully off model. Sounds are also revamped which is... okay, I suppose; don't really have an opinion one way or the other if I'm honest. There's also Kinect functionality which allows you to scan items with voice commands and add them to a library, I never used that and given that I sold my Kinect I never will. Oh and it's in Stereoscopic 3D, in case you still have a 3D TV, my brother does but it's a hand-me-down from 2012. The worst issue though with this port is that the classic mode is running off the PC port which as I mentioned, looks worse than the Xbox version; though if you play in remastered mode the whole time it won't be an issue. Also it comes with some maps for Halo: Reach that are maps from Halo's 1 and 2 remade, they're okay I suppose, sucks that there's no original multiplayer here though. The whole remaster feels really rushed if I'm honest, though this won't be the last time I say that.
Next up is Halo 2: Anniversary, released for Halo 2's 10th Anniversary in 2014 and boy is this a much better remaster than Halo CEA. Halo 2 Anniversary runs off the Windows Vista version but unlike the gearbox version of Halo 1 the original graphics aren't as bad here. But there's also a new graphics engine just like Halo CEA which has the same massive environment improvements as CEA but the difference here being the animations don't clash with the new textures and that leads us to the other big point in this favor, cutscenes. Halo 2 Anniversary's cutscenes were redone from the ground up by Blur Studios, who had done Halo Wars' cutscenes and would take their work on H2A to Halo Wars 2. And honestly Halo has honestly never looked better than with Blur. It also fixes the large amounts of jank that CEA's cutscenes as they aren't remasters as much as they are remakes. The only problem I noticed is that music is just a bit too loud, they really wanted you to hear this new OST even if dialogue suffers. On the upside Halo 2's multiplayer, along with several maps, is remade using the Halo 4 engine. Adding new elements to maps, new armors, new weapons, and new vehicles to Halo 2 like the Suppresed SMG, AR, and Hornet's. And to top it all off, you get a forge mode, which makes this a far more comprehensive and better remaster than Halo 1.Of course H2A was only one part of the package included with....
Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which has H2A and Halo 2's original multiplayer packed in with it alongside an improved port of Halo CEA (alongside the PC multiplayer), Halo 3, Halo 4, Halo 3: ODST, and soon Halo: Reach. All games are running on the Xbox One at 1080p 60fps with an update allowing for 4K HDR visuals on Xbox One X and, from a pure gameplay perspective, the MCC is the best way to play all of these games. They look better and are so much smoother than their original version, 60fps really should be a standard for the series. But beyond the actual game there are some big issues, and I'm not talking netcode, which is fixed by now. The real problem is that Halo 1's BTB is actually awful to play, with wonky physics ruining the vehicles. Halo 2 is actually fine, but the game is running the Vista port so that may be an issue. Halo 3 and Halo 4 get it worst though as their armor customization is so horribly gutted it's almost a dealbreaker. All armor is reduced to the sets only so no mixing and matching and in spite of having all map DLC included MCC doesn't have the Halo 4 armor or awesome steampunk weapon skin DLC. Oh and the emblems don't work, at all. It's actually awful and I genuinely count the days till 343 fixes it. Oh, and Halo 4's campaign is a bit bugged, not game ruining but enough for old hands in the series to notice. All in all a decent port, but one with issues. Oh, and no Firefight from ODST, the hell is that about?
But now we're simply waiting for the PC ports which should be the definitive version of all six of these games and hopefully fix my biggest problem with the game. But you knew that already; though you probably didn't know about....
Mobile Spinoffs
Yes, there were mobile Halo spinoffs, two in fact and they play so similarly that this is gonna be a very short look back. Halo: Spartan Assault and Halo: Spartan Strike are twin stick arcade style shooters that see the player in a overhead position wiping the floor with waves of enemies while racking up a top score. Assault follows Spartan's Sarah Palmer and new character Edward Davis as they investigate the moon X50 to find what the Covenant are so interested in and, ya know, kill them. Strike follows an unnamed Headhunter SPARTAN-III as they try to find an ancient forerunner device called the conduit which does... things. Plot doesn't really matter with these games and honestly it's more about high score than anything. These are unremarkable games and I forget they exist most of the time, I never even beat Spartan Assault and barely remember Spartan Strike; the only real difference is that Strike has Prometheans and new maps and that both games use a lot of Halo Wars assets. It's fairly unremarkable all things considered, but if you have an iPhone and want Halo on the go then these are worth checking out.There was also rumored Halo on DS, IGN even shows it running but Bungie and Microsoft have denied it ever happening though. Some speculate that it was real, some say IGN was pranking users and some say it actually fell under....
Fan Games
Boy was that smooth wasn't it. Yes there are some fan games I want to highlight here, just ones that grab my attention the most whether in development or finished and you can play all of these on PC so go ham on them if they interest, like I got interested into Eldewrito.Released in April 2018, Eldewritio was actually a failed spinoff called Halo Online that used the Halo 3 engine, Halo 4 visuals, and micro-transactions that would make Halo 5 blush. It was initially Russia only but fans took to it, ripped out a lot of the "modern" stuff, and made it basically a PC port of Halo 3's multiplayer. However Microsoft forced the makers to cease and desist as the game violated the IP of Halo Online, though the servers remain up to this day and you can easily find a copy of it online. It also runs on basically anything, making it easily the best way to play Halo on PC right now as it's literally just Halo 3, though only the multiplayer, though if you want single player might I recommend SPV3.
Recently released, SPV3 is a mod of Halo 1 that acts as a remake incorporating elements from later games like weapons and enemies, re designing every map, making it harder, and adding a whole bunch of original ideas for maps. It also looks a lot better, not Halo CEA's melting your eyes better, but lighting, textures, and models are largely improved. There are some issues with enemies and sometimes the design can be a bit too busy along with having no easy option which would make it appeal to more casual fans. But if you want a new way to experience Halo 1 and are an old hand at it like me, this should easily be in consideration.
The last one I feel is worth consideration is Halo 2600, an easy to play game that your toaster can handle. Why? Because it's Halo, on the Atari 2600. You shoot things and go through a 64 screen maze until you reach the final boss. That's really about it, if that doesn't sound thrilling then I won't blame you, it's a time sink and nothing more.
And I think that's where we'll end it, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel here I think this review-a-thon is done. It was fun seeing the trajectory of the series, even if it was largely downhill for 10 years. I had a lot of fun going back and replaying these games the original way they were meant to, it's definitely something you need to keep in mind if you review 2 because oh boy has that one aged poorly in terms of system performance. It's also amazing what 60fps did to the series, night and day if you ask me. But we have one more thing to do, look at what we learned, and we will next time.
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